Ferndale spa massage ends in gun assault, police say

A woman who owns a downtown Ferndale spa is charged with pulling a gun on a man following a massage and demanding full payment from him.

Trina Harper, 36, of Oak Park, is free on personal bond and was due in Ferndale 43rd District Court on Thursday afternoon for a pre-exam hearing on a charge of felonious assault. However, her attorney appeared on her behalf and requested a preliminary examination hearing for 2 p.m. Monday.

The man called police after paying $40 cash and $30 on a credit card for the massage, police said.

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The man, 55, told police he earlier met Harper at a party and they talked a few times over the telephone.

“The victim said the suspect invited him to her spa to hang out and he accepted,” said Ferndale Police Sgt. Patrick Jones. “When he arrived he went into a room she directed him to and he said he thought they were just going to hang out. He accepted her offer of a massage, thinking it was a friendly gesture, but after it was over she told him it would be $70.”

The man told the suspect he didn’t know he had to pay for the massage and only had $40 cash with him, police said.

“She started yelling and swearing and demanded her money,” Jones said. “She took out a small black handgun and started waving it around.”

The man told police he gave Harper the cash he had and put the remaining balance on a credit card because he wanted to get out of the spa.

Harper later told police she got mad and only pulled a gun out of a drawer and laid it on a desk until the man paid, Jones said.

“She said she runs a legitimate business and wanted her money,” he said.

Police confiscated Harper’s gun. She told police she had the gun because there have been robberies in the area and she wanted to protect herself.

The charge against Harper in punishable by up to four years in prison and a $2,000 fine.